Don’t over-fertilize vegetabl
PENN STATE Be cautious in
applying fertilizer to vegetable
croplands and gardens already
rich in plant nutrients. You could
waste time and money, research
indicates at Penn State University.
Of 110 vegetable crop ex
periments in 19 counties over
several years, 38 showed no
response to fertilizer. This in
dicated good reserve supplies of
nutrients already in the soil,
reported Cyril B. Smith, scientist
in plant nutrition with the
Agricultural Experiment Station
at Penn State.
“Chances are good that most
commercial vegetable growers,
and home gardeners too, have ‘soil
banks’ rich in plant foods, ready to
supply a high percentage of vital
nutrients," Smith stated. N
In describing sweet com studies,
he said lime supplied or made
RMomH
incite soil
For More Effective Control
Ridomil controls blue mold and black
shank in your tobacco. But for Ridomil to
do its best work, it should be applied to
the soil before transplanting.
Ridomil destroys diseases present in the
soil. Then it is absorbed by the roots and
moved systemically throughout the plant
to protect your tobacco as it grows.
For the best two-way action against blue
mold and black shank, follow your label
directions —use Ridomil in the soil.
RidomiP trademark of Ciba-Geigy for metalaxyl
P. L. ROHRER & BRfl., INC.
SMOKETOWN, PA
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 16,1981
available 40 percent of the
nutrients needed beyond those
already in the soil. Thus, with a
good liming program, the grower
is nearly half way toward the goal
of supplying needed plant food, he
observed.
He pointed out that high calcium
limestone is generally superior to
dolomitic (high magnesium)
limestone in producing vegetables
and that it costs less. Although
dolomitic lime is an excellent
source of magnesium, it supplies
very little calcium, if any, despite
a calcium content of 21 percent.
He advised applying dolomitic
lime only when magnesium is quite
low in a soil test. Magnesium
should be applied in lime, he
. recommended; not in more costly
fertilizers of foliage sprays.
“What is often needed is not a
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